HERRIMAN, Utah, March 29, 2025 (Gephardt Daily) — Bureau of Land Management crews in Utah recently completed a 659-acre fuels treatment on public lands near Hi-Country Estates, just outside Herriman.
The project thinned dense juniper stands, creating hand piles for burning in fall or winter 2025/2026.
Located on the lower slopes of the Oquirrh Mountains, this area is crucial mule deer winter habitat. Decades of fire suppression have allowed juniper to outcompete sagebrush, reducing habitat quality and increasing wildfire risk.
Urban development and mining have added further challenges, the BLM news release says. Dense juniper canopies deplete understory vegetation, promote cheatgrass invasion, accelerate soil erosion, and raise the risk of high-severity fires.
“By removing juniper and restoring native vegetation, this project improves habitat, assists the community with a reduction in wildfire risk, and enhances landscape resilience,” the BLM release says.
